WEBVTT

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Here's why

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some of the best,

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most affordable skin

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care is about to

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get more expensive.

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The Trump administration

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recently proposed a 25 percent

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tariff on goods

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coming into the U.S.

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from South Korea,

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which means fans of Korean

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skin-care and beauty

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products, or K-beauty,

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may have to start paying more

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for what used to be cheap,

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high-quality skin care.

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When Korean

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beauty products

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came to the U.S. several years

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ago, beauty fans were obsessed

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with how affordable

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and, honestly, better

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they were than U.S.

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products,

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especially our sunscreen.

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Our FDA is notoriously slow

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at approving new

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sunblock technology, so

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compared to

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a lot of other countries,

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our sun care is outdated.

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It's usually a lot

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gloopier, harder to rub in,

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and more expensive.

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But K-beauty

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sunscreen has newer filters

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that rub in more easily.

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They don't leave a white

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cast on your skin,

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and they usually round about $15,

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when the closest

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counterpart in the U.S.

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would be, like, $40.

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So skin-care

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enthusiasts like me

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have been importing K-beauty

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to get access

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to that better sunscreen

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and to products that use ingredients

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you wouldn't normally

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find in U.S. skin care,

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like snail mucin.

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But now that snail mucin

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is caught in a trade war.

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With this new tariff,

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one expert

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I talked to said K-beauty

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brands will probably wait

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at least a year before

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figuring out their next moves—

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so whether that's to just stop

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focusing so much on U.S.

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markets

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or maybe to double down

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and move their factories

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into the United States,

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where they'd be able

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to avoid the tariffs.

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But ironically,

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even if the tariffs do succeed

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and bring more manufacturing

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into the U.S.,

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in the case of K-beauty,

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that'll mean that the products

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have lost their strongest appeal:

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that they aren't made in the USA.

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One really famous K-beauty

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brand, Beauty of Joseon,

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moved their manufacturing

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to the U.S.

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a while back,

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and beauty enthusiasts

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have been less

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than impressed with the products

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they've designed

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for the U.S. market.

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Their sunscreen,

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which they formulated

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with the older filters approved by

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the FDA,

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has been criticized,

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fairly or not, by beauty reviewers

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as just not being as good

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as the Korean version.

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So when it comes to tariffs,

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"Made in

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the USA"

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might not mean you're actually

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getting the best

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skin care out there.